Powerball $100m draw set to spark 'huge rush', remarkable Sydney heat detail, CBD power outage rocks businesses

A sculpture that was hung on the wall of a Sydney restaurant has sold for an impressive $1.25 million at auction.

Tide, a copper snake sculpture, has set a new price record for an Australian sculpture. It was created by the late artist Bronwyn Oliver.

"It was an absolutely thrilling result, not only for Bronwyn Oliver — an exceptional Australian artist — but also for Australian Sculpture and also for Australian art overall," said Geoffery Smith, chairman of auction house Smith and Singer, the ABC reported.

"It is a work that is considered to be her finest, largest work. Completely hand made by her."

Two people have been found dead inside a home at a bayside Melbourne suburb.

The bodies of a man and women were find inside a house on James St in Mordialloc just before 11am on Thursday.

Police have cordoned off the area and a crime seen has been established as officers investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

“The man and woman are yet to be finally identified,” a police spokesman said.

“At this early stage, police are not searching for anyone else in relation to the incident.”

Police asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers.

- NCA NewsWire

Travellers who stayed at the Laos hostel at the centre of the methanol poisoning tragedy reportedly left Google reviews urging others to avoid the backpacker hotspot as the incident began unfolding.

The ABC shared screenshots of since-deleted reviews showing guests had been trying to warn others about the hostel before the the first deaths from the incident were first made public.

"People we know were taken to hospital, some even in intensive care with serious problems. The ones in hospital have all had traces of methanol in their bloodstream which is incredibly dangerous," one person wrote.

The hostel owner previously denied to the ABC any wrongdoing. He has since been arrested alongside seven other hostel staff.

One Australian man staying at the hostel said he was still served free shots at the hostel in the days after three of the six victims had died.

"We drank lots of shots. Everyone did. I guess we drank a lot that first night and then throughout the night there were some rumours that said some girls got spiked or something," Harry Ough, 19, said.

"It wasn't until the next day when we started realising something's going on here."

More than 30 schoolchildren have been evacuated after a school bus caught fire on the NSW south coast.

Adam Dewberry from NSW Fire and Rescue said crews were called to the blaze near Collins St and Terralong St in Kiama about 8.45am Thursday.

He said about 33 kids were on the bus when the blaze broke out and were safely evacuated along with the driver.

​Mr Dewberry confirmed no injuries had been reported, with crews getting the fire contained within 20 minutes. NSWFR have been assessing waterways to ensure there aren’t any issues, while the cause of the fire is unknown.

- NCA NewsWire

A Panasonic cord supplied with two products is being recalled as it could cause death, the ACCC says.

The cord came with the following pet products sold between August 17, 2023 and November 8 this year:

• Panasonic Smart Pet Feeder - Model: CP-JNF01FW

• Panasonic Pet Water Fountain - Model: CP-JNW01FW

The products were sold by Amazon, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Betta Electrical and Bi-Rite.

"[There is] risk of serious injury or death due to electrocution from contact with the live wires," Product Safety states due to the ability for the plug to break apart.

Those who have purchased the products are urged to turn them off immediately and organise a replacement from Panasonic.

A woman who was rushed to hospital after she was bitten by a deadly blue-ringed octopus has opened up about the ordeal.

The incident made national headlines in 2023 when she was bitten at Sydney's Chinamans Beach. Paz Moreno has now spoken out about the incident with the ABC, revealing paramedics told her to call her family with her life at risk.

“I think that was a big red flag for me,” she said.

Moreno said her mouth and tongue went numb, “like when you eat spicy food but without the spicy feeling.”

Moreno had put a shell in her swimsuit but little did she know it contained the blue-ringed octopus.

Experts have previously warned about the dangers of blue-ringed octopuses, with a spate of social media videos of people handling them in recent years.

They are often hard to spot due to their camouflage abilities. Their venom can be lethal for humans and Ian Tibbetts, Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, previously said a death could be imminent.

A woman has been charged with allegedly attempting to drown two children.

Emergency services were called to Riverpark Drive, Liverpool, about 10.30am on Monday, September 11, 2023, following reports of a concern for a welfare.

Police found a woman had fallen from the Light Horse Bridge. The 36-year-old woman was treated by paramedics before being transported to hospital in a critical condition.

About 12.50pm the same day, emergency services were called to the Georges River near Riverpark Drive in Liverpool following reports of two children in the water.

“Officers attended and were told two girls – aged seven and eight – had been rescued from the river by a passer-by,” a statement from NSW Police read.

The young girls were treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital for further assessment.

A crime scene was established and police launched an investigation into the incident.

The now-37-year-old woman was released from hospital on Wednesday, November 27 about 11.30am.

Following an extensive investigation, detectives arrested the woman, who was taken to Liverpool Police Station and charged with two counts of attempt to drown person with intent to murder.

Police will allege the woman threw the two girls into the water.

She was refused bail and appeared before court on Wednesday, November 27.

- NCA NewsWire

It's yet another $100 million draw for the Powerball tonight. They used to be a rare occurrence but in the last few years they've been pretty regular and there's a reason why. In 2018, lottery officials added an extra ball to the draw, making it almost twice as hard to scoop Division one and therefore triggering more rollovers.

The big jackpots lead to plenty of buzz and plenty of tickets purchased.

The Lott regularly predicts a $100 million draw prompts half of Australia's adults to buy a ticket – a quite staggering amount and one far greater than if the jackpot returned to the low millions.

The Lott revealed this week that at the peak of sales at the last $100 million draw, there were 8,681 tickets sold in a single minute. A "huge rush" for tickets has been predicted for tonight.

According to The Lott's estimations, this would mean the draw will bring in at least $57.2 million from roughly 10.6 million people based on the cost of the minimum requirement of four games to participate.

If on average there were 20 games per person, the equivalent number of tickets in a PowerHit entry, Thursday's draw would turn over $285,569,840. The Lott has previously remained tight-lipped on the exact number of tickets it sells.

Well it was a hot night for millions in NSW after what was a sweltering day on Wednesday. The heat rose to 39.9C in Penrith yesterday while at one point in the middle of the day, Sydney Airport became the hottest place in the planet momentarily when it hit 38.2C, Weatherzone reported.

And while there were repeated warnings from the state government energy supplies might run out with air cons blaring, it was actually a different cause that left properties and businesses in Sydney's CBD without power on Thursday morning.

"At least 950 customers and businesses lost power after a water main burst and flooded an underground substation," Ausgrid said this morning. Crews are working on the issue and power is expected to be out for "most of the day".

There's more heat on the way today, and those in the state will also be facing storms that will bring rain, wind and potentially hail.